Columnist parrots GOP talking points

In regards to Cynthia Stead's column "Dreams from our fathers" (March 13), it is Ms. Stead's job to parrot Republican talking points, vilifying the Affordable Care Act. However, she ignores the fact that the two President Bushes brought down the American economy by opening the doors of government to be "privatized," sold off ...

Comment

By ROBERT BECK

capecodtimes.com

By ROBERT BECK

Posted Mar. 24, 2014 at 2:15 AM

By ROBERT BECK

Posted Mar. 24, 2014 at 2:15 AM

» Social News

In regards to Cynthia Stead's column "Dreams from our fathers" (March 13), it is Ms. Stead's job to parrot Republican talking points, vilifying the Affordable Care Act. However, she ignores the fact that the two President Bushes brought down the American economy by opening the doors of government to be "privatized," sold off and off-shored. She also ignores the fact that Bush launched two manufactured wars that his administration never paid for and rewarded Wall Street robber barons to boot.

When Ms. Stead speaks about "Dreams of our fathers," invoking the title of President Obama's book, she forgets how many of our fathers and grandfathers fought for the right to actually have decent working conditions and have opportunity because of the very labor movement she and her party have spent decades dismantling.

As usual, her GOP seeks to blame working people, expounding the myth that entry-level jobs lead up the ladder. Perhaps in an earlier era, the Horatio Alger myth might have flown, but young Americans aren't that naive. They, along with most folks in our corner of the world, know that "good jobs" on the Cape are a farce. Ten-dollar to $12-per-hour jobs are the norm with zero room to grow. Even full-time work, if you are lucky, won't allow you to rent a decent home on Cape. Rents average $1,200 to $1,300 a month, not counting utilities.

Ms. Stead goes on to attack Medicaid, one of the few social safety nets Americans have left, by stating "one-man health insurance policies have been available for decades." But she forgets to mention that these policies are inflated and have huge deductibles, which is why this country has been in a health care crisis for decades. Republicans routinely have given insurers an open door to abuse people's rights, by deregulation and plain greed.

Also, Ms. Stead feels compelled to take a swipe at President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose policies got us out of the first great Depression, not into one.

Ms. Stead wrongly lumps younger Americans into a cartoonish caricature of spoiled children. She explains that, "They have been taught that taking a job as a waiter or waitress working with your hands is a stain on the resume." Exactly by whom? Just parents that are not in her political party? Perhaps she thinks that, but most kids I know at Cape Cod Community College would disagree and would probably mention that even working these "entry"-level jobs they cannot pay for rent, books and tuition easily. Yet she doesn't mention that her party routinely votes against any help for students, or their families, or anyone in society they deem unworthy of their attention.

Ms. Stead also scolds us for having stupid kids who "may not have any actual talent or aptitude for these dreams." Again, Ms. Stead feels that it's best to blame everyone else but the people who have disassembled the public education system, causing our kids to be "dumbed down" in the first place. Obstructionist Republicans refuse to legislate and simply block any economic, job or infrastructure bill that would actually create a few jobs. All to make the current president "fail" in the end.

Ms. Stead blames progressives for the sins of our past failed conservative presidents, and offers no actual ideas for fixing our country other than to blame 47 percent of Americans who are not her party's base. And you see how far that got Mitt Romney.